Whoa. What happened? All those plans on breaking down the 2008 season and looking ahead to 2009 – shelved.

File this under the heading: To Believe Is To Be Strong, or The Power Of Positive Thinking.

Dang if The Voice didn’t do it again. I remember the intimate press conference before the Shula Bowl talking about being bowl eligible and how things looked pretty grim even if FAU would go to 6-6. He trotted out the story about how Miami had gotten the Peach Bowl bid at the last second when he had called the committee, told them to hold off, and he quickly arranged a flight to Atlanta with some big Hurricanes backers and they came back with the bid.

They also had pledged to sell 15,000 tickets, but to The Voice, those are minor details when considering the big picture.

This was not quite as dramatic, but FAU is in while ULL, Arkansas State, San Jose State and Bowling Green are wondering what the Owls did right and what they did wrong.

FAU pulled this one out of its behind. Despite being 6-6, despite not beating a team with a winning record, despite being 1,358.54 miles from the Boca Raton campus, despite the prospect of bringing less than 1,000 fans, despite, well, despite all the odds against them, the Owls are going bowling.

Dec. 26 in Detroit, 8 p.m., FAU versus the Chippewas of Central Michigan. Actually should be a good game. The Chippewas run a spread with a really good QB. FAU will be the underdog, which is a great spot for them, and they did win five of their last six and in their last game scored five touchdowns one quarter and one series in OT.

REJECTS REACT

Obviously the mood is dark in JONESBORO, ARK, home of the rejected Red Wolves. And in Acadiana, where the Very Perturbed Cajuns reside after they were also OVERLOOKED.

And I love conspiracay theories, and THIS ONE seems plausible to me. Northern Illinois over ULL for the Independence Bowl? ULL fans have been itching to get a swing at La. Tech and they would have turned out in droves for this game. Makes no sense.

Though no 6-6 team should be whining. Troy had a legit gripe last year then they were 8-4 and got snubbed.

ROAD TRIP

OK, have to revise the Road Trip costs. As stated above, Ford Field is 1,358.54 miles from the Boca Raton campus.

If your vehicle gets 20 miles per gallon, and gas is $2.20 per gallon, that is $149.44 in gas. And let’s say you average 60 miles per hour, that is a 22 hour trip.

Obviously, to cut costs and avoid a stay in a Red Roof Inn in Berea, Kentucky, you will share driving and drive straight through the night.

So, if you open your presents, have dinner, then say goodbye to friends and family and hit the road at, say, 5 p.m. Christmas Day, you can get to Detroit by 2 p.m. on the 26th. Check into a hotel, grab a nap, freshen up, and be ready for the game.

Detroit Marriott is one of the team hotels and will set you back $135 a night.

Cheapest tickets are $30, and you buy those. Tailgate in 20 degree temps? Forget that. You’ll down a few in the hotel room.

You’ll pass on the t-shirts. Party after the game? Well, is there anyplace to party after midnight in Detroit on Dec. 26? No, you need your sleep, because in the morning you are going to get in the car and driver straight back to Boca Raton. 22 hours to ponder why the hell you did what you just did.

Have to figure in sustenance, which includes adult beverages. Since everyone has to contribute time behind the wheel, it is sober up and back, so just meals on the road. McDonalds Value Meals, figure $5 per pit stop, $20 total, three up and three back. $120.

Beer in Detroit, just one night, case per, figure $20 times 4 is $80.

Anyway, figuring two to a hotel room, unless you are the Dirty Birds, where they can fit up to 11, the cost of this Road Trip is $536.94 or $134.23 per person.

No prob, right? Now, how big a caravan can FAU get to head to Detroit?

Yeah, dreamin. Well, at least you can watch on ESPN. It’s the only game on that night.

Comments

cmu chippewas are named after the chippewa indians that were the original inhabitants of lower michigan. They use this title proudly and have the blessing of the chippewa nation, who has a very close affiliation with the university. They have no mascot.They do have a very good team lead by the highest raited q.b. in mi.
(which is'nt real hard to do considering the lions and u of m is your competition). No kidding though LeFevre is a riot to watch.
A thought for you sunny floridians the past four days here L.temps 8-16 H. temps 19-29. but maybe by game day it might be up to 35. Hope this helps.
"FIRE UP CHIPS"

Come on Ted...are you gettin tired of this gig or what? This article could have been awesome, instead all you did was diss what our little ole team has accomplished and focus on the negative. You missed a great opportunity to promote the Owls and the show. Lets encourage a few folks from FAU to spend a day or so in Detroit and get this economy going again. Have you seen whats going on up there? Come dude, I've seen you do a lot better than this. Do you remember when we were working out of a trailor and didn't even own a football? Without eithrt of them you would have no place to sit your behind all day and would be reporting on high school field hockey scores.
Get with the program bro!
See ya in the Motor City!
Your Pal-Rick

Come on Ted...are you gettin tired of this gig or what? This article could have been awesome, instead all you did was diss what our little ole team has accomplished and focus on the negative. You missed a great opportunity to promote the Owls and the show. Lets encourage a few folks from FAU to spend a day or so in Detroit and get this economy going again. Have you seen whats going on up there? Come dude, I've seen you do a lot better than this. Do you remember when we were working out of a trailor and didn't even own a football? Without eithrt of them you would have no place to sit your behind all day and would be reporting on high school field hockey scores.
Get with the program bro!
See ya in the Motor City!
Your Pal-Rick

I kinda knew it was an Indian tribe I think I learned that in like 4th grade but that was a LOOOOOOOOOONG time ago lol. What is their mascot though? Do they use a Chippewa Indian like the FSU uses a Seminole Indian?

I love the Owls and the Dirty Birds, but with all due respect y'all gotta get out more. (Okay, the more I think about it, maybe if I had not come from the midwest and grown up going to MAC sporting events I would not know the answer to this question either).

Chippewa is an Indian tribe native to the midwest--especially Michigan. A midwestern version of Seminole, a better example might be a Miccosukee(?)

Indian tribes used to be the most common mascot in the MAC, until Miami (of Ohio) and Eastern Michigan changed their names from Redskins and Hurons to Redhawks and Eagles in an effort to be more P.C.

In case your curious that is also where the name "Fighting Illini" comes from--an Indian tribe.

Ted, If I'm not mistaken, this will be FAU's first exposure to a good mid-major team outside of the SBC. We've played the major BCS teams; Oklahoma, Texas, Florida and many others. We've also played 2 not so good OOC mid-major, UAB and Memphis. Memphis might be a middle of the pack CUSA and are no better than ANY SBC team. Last year, any team with a mediocre offense and a good defense could have beaten them.

I knew we'd get into a bowl just had that feeling. FAU Motor City Owls!This game is gonna be interesting to say the least.this is from espn ranking the bowls we're 32 of 34. Motor City Bowl
Florida Atlantic vs. Central Michigan
8 p.m., Dec. 26 (ESPN)
The Chippewas would have preferred to have played at Ford Field for last week's MAC championship game. Instead, they'll play the Owls in the Motor City Bowl. The game is a matchup of two of the country's most unheralded quarterbacks: Central Michigan's Dan LeFevour and Florida Atlantic's Rusty Smith.

I had asked a few of my contacts at FAU and it is looking highly unlikely that SGA will pull another student trip out of their butts this year. I had hear that it is due to the drastic budget cuts and also, I have not heard anything about Alumni trips either.

It's getting to look like I'll be watching the game from home (wahhhh)!

We're really getting beat up by the media around the country. Its real important that we have a good showing in this bowl and win. Otherwise we will be "I told you so" to death. The papers are saying we don't belong in a bowl, we haven't beaten any team with a winning record, our getting an invite proves there are too many bowl games, etc, etc.

I wanna gooooooooo!!!
Once more time FAU gains national exposure. This is priceless!!! due to the fact that this the ONLY game on national television that night, just like the NO Bowl.
Our name is getting out there more frequently and this only benefits FAU tremendously. I would not be surprised if FAU gets more student applications this coming year. I hope this helps to build our stadium. In addition, the pay-out is much higher than last year.

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About the author

DIETER KURTENBACH a Chicago native and 2010 Missouri School of Journalism graduate, has covered Missouri Tigers athletics for KCOU radio and the Columbia Missourian, Major League Soccer for Comcast SportsNet-Chicago, and lunch orders for ESPN Radio-Chicago. Kurtenbach was part of the Missourian team that earned first place in "Breaking News" at the 2010 Associated Press Sports Editors awards, but his real passion is his constant quest to find the world’s best sandwich – if you have a tip, don’t hesitate to send it his way.